DREAMWORKS ANIMATION EXHIBITION

With the juggernauts that are Disney and Pixar often receiving the most attention, it’s easy to forget sometimes just how significant a contribution has been made by Dreamworks to the art of animation. In fact, the scope and variety of their output almost puts Disney and Pixar to shame, with Dreamworks unafraid to push the boundaries and experiment with what animation is capable of and what forms it can take. For their latest offering in the acclaimed Melbourne Winter Masterpieces program, the Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI) have worked with Dreamworks Animation to create a world premiere exhibition showcasing exactly what it is that makes their films so distinct and memorable.

The ACMI exhibitions have been one of the most exciting fixtures of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces seasons, and the Dreamworks Animation Exhibition is no exception. To begin with, it has been beautifully curated, with the artwork and interactive material intelligently laid out in a manner that shows them at their best and makes them easily accessible. It’s a strange thing to comment on, but the layout of the exhibition is spacious enough to accommodate for the inevitably large crowds that will go through without making it overwhelming for patrons and obscuring the displays.

The material of offer covers the full scope of the history of the company, from the early days of ‘Antz’ and ‘The Prince of Egypt’ to their recent and upcoming films such as ‘Mr Peabody & Sherman’ and ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’. Every step of the production process is covered, with supporting material such as concept art, character sculptures and research material. A number of intelligently designed interactive displays place you right inside the workspace of the animators, allowing us to glimpse their process, including sitting in on storyboard presentations for ‘Shrek’ or watching a worktable come to life as it works on ‘Over The Hedge’.